First, we must come to an understanding of faith. Faith is simply knowing and trusting without the tangible facts in hand. Faith believes what is yet to be seen, but is still known in the spirit and heart of a man. For instance, one may believe in the wind. But have you seen the wind? Nobody has seen the wind but we can see ample results of the wind. A flag standing straight out on a flagpole is proof of the wind. The roar in the treetops or the waves on the lake are reasoning for their being wind. Yet, we can't actually see wind. God is the same. He is a spirit (Jn 4:24), and being thus, is not visible to the human eye. Like the wind, we can see His influence and grand design and know. (Heb 11:3)
1. Take a look at the stars on a starry night. They hang perfectly in place night after night. Billions of galaxies are out in space and with in each galaxy there are literally billions of stars. How did they all get there? What holds them up? Read: Hebrews 1:2-3 The arrangement of the planets is noteworthy. If the earth were a bit closer to the sun we would burn up. If we were a bit further away, we would freeze and life could not exist on this planet. If you believe this all occurred by coincidence, you are using much more faith to believe there is no God than it takes to believe there is a God. It is difficult to illustrate how impossible the 'big bang' theory is. I mean it would be like taking all the components of your computer apart...all the wires, chips, and tiny pieces and then get up on the roof of a ten story building. Toss all the individual parts at once into the air. While they are floating (in slow motion) toward the sidewalk let me ask you a question. What are the chances that those parts will land perfectly assembled as a working computer? Get it?
2. Consider the constant cycle of water that serves to provide life for every living thing. This amazing system was put into place by God. Water falls in the form of rain, filling the water table, watering the crops etc. Then, it runs off into the creeks and streams...down to the rivers and finally back to the ocean where, by God's design there is salt (a cleansing agent to kill bacteria) contained in the water. Next, the water mysteriously evaporates back to the clouds and it just so happens that the atmospheric flows bring it right back over the land and the process begins again. Now you tell me is that just pure happenstance or is there a Creator, a God who put this all together?
3. Within the human body are proofs too numerous to mention. The nervous system recognizes a rock thrown at you and quickly sends a signal to your brain that trouble is coming. The brain fires a signal back to the body causing the arms to go up, eyes to blink and the torso to duck down in an automatic mechanism of defense. As your food processes through your intestines the liver washes the food with bile to break it down into a form that can be re-absorbed and used for energy and the remaking of cells. The human eye is a machine man cannot reproduce. We initially see upside down but the brain flips the image produced and brought to us by all the intricate parts of the eye. We inhale air into our lungs. The oxygen is taken into the blood stream and the carbon dioxide is exhaled as a toxin. We are fearfully and wonderfully made....not evolved. Speaking of evolution...if we evolved to this point, why did we stop evolving? Why haven't we gone on to the next level? Further, if we evolved where is all the scientific proof? I mean we have complete skeletons of dinosaurs, but not a single proof of a part man - part amoeba.
4. Scientific study has proven the Bible to be true. Archeological digs have unearthed cities, relics, names, etc which have proved the biblical events. There are over 400 prophecies from the Old Testament which have been proven to be fulfilled.
5. Jesus is proof there is a God. All the Old Testament prophets who wrote about Jesus did so thousands or hundreds of years before Christ's birth. Most of the prophets did not know each other or live in the same time period. Yet, Jesus fulfilled their prophecies in an exact fashion...including where He would be born, how He would die etc. One man figured the odds of this happening by pure chance. He stated, (paraphrased) "Suppose you filled the state of Texas 2 feet deep with silver coins. (Texas is a big state) Then you marked one of those coins with a marker. Next you blind fold a man and ask him to walk anywhere he wants to in Texas covered 2 feet deep in coins, and ask him to pick up the marked coin. The odds of a man picking up the right coin would be similar to the odds of Jesus randomly fulfilling all of prophecy."
6. Among many other things, perhaps the greatest proof of God is personal experience. When man follows the laws of the Bible, his life inherently tracks toward betterment; better life; better health; better rest; better family etc. The opposite is true as well. When a person rejects God and His Word, he usually winds his way downward in all areas of life. To experience peace, love, forgiveness through the power of the Holy Spirit is something words cannot describe. Through faith you can know!
Through time, study and experiences of life we all should come to acknowledge there is a God and the only way to get to Him is through Jesus Christ. One day all men will acknowledge and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Hope this helps.
Have a good one...and wear a safety belt if you try the computer experiment! ha.
Tim
